A Tour of St. Louis; or, The Inside Life of a Great City by Dacus, J.A. & James W. Buel - 1878

St. Louis: Western Pub Co, 1878. First Edition. Octavo. 554, xix pages The largest book stores in the West before the Gold Rush were in St. Louis and Chicago (though this would change as California became more settled in the next decade). The decline in the prices of books by the late 1870's is noted and the cost of acquiring sets of Dickens insnoted in terms of binding, etc at far below the prices even those with over 250 illustrations. After providing an early history of St. Louis, the author writes of the hundreds of businesses, churches, civic buildings most of which were gone by the early 1960's. The chapter on Ways That Are Dark discusses the schemes of thieves and swindlers that preyed on the citizens and visitors detailing exactly how the "pocket book dropping" scam, "snide jewelry sales", mock auctions to cheat the prospective bidder operated, all with illustrations. The "street Arabs" are the homeless children who wander the streets of the city destined for what at best would be menial… Read More

St. Louis, Missouri: Western Publishing Company, Jones & Griffin, 1878. Tooled brown cloth hardcover, 564 pages, engraved illustrations throughout, light soiling on endpapers, hinges loose, . First Edition. Hard Cover. Good/No Dust Jacket.

YE Gallon Press, 1970. Limited Edition. #499/605. VG. Interior is tight, clean, and free of ownership marks except for one penciled notation on the flyleaf. Cloth boards show shelf and handling wear with light soiling, edge, corner, and spine wear. Overall a solid copy showing minimal signs of use. Photo is of the copy we have here at Barbed Wire Books.

Kansas City, KS: E. B. Barnett, Publisher Book. VG. Hardcover. Presumed 1st Edition. Book is blue cloth covered boards with paste-on American flag on front. The book has minor shelf edge wear with no other defects to note. No date - circa 1919. 91 pages with black and white frontis - a picture of the author in fancy dress in Washington in 1909. Married to an officer of the 2nd Cavalry in 1866, Sargent relates to experiences at Fort Bidwell, Fort Walla Walla, to Arizona. Four years at Fort Huachuca, Fort Bowie, to Fort Logan, Colorado and at Fort Wingate. .

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1938. First Thus. Vellum-backed marbled boards. Near Fine. (xx), 1, 21, 1 pages. First Edition Thus. Introduction by Francis P. Farquhar. Vellum-backed marbled boards. Gilt spine-titling. 5 1/4" x 8". Slipcase. Limited to 350 copies printed by The University of California Press. Per the Introduction, "'The Helmet of Mambrino' well supports the claim of (Clarence) King's friends that his casual conversation often equalled the best literature of his day, for this letter to a friend was undoubtedly produced spontaneously without thought of publication." A beautifully produced small book. Neat pictorial bookplate at front pastedown; small bookseller's stamp removal scar to rear pastedown, but a Near Fine copy in a Very Good Plus (slight abrasions at opening ends) slipcase. ALWAYS FREE SHIPPING via media mail to any United States address.

New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1964. First Edition. Cloth. Fine/Very Good Plus. (15) 331 (1) pp. Illustrated dust jacket, with $6.95 price. Illustrated, including maps of The Moromon Trail. Index. Purple cloth.6 1/4" x 9 1/4". One of The American Trail Series, edited by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Per the jacket blurb: "Close to the heart of Mormondom is the almost stylized memory of the Trail. For every early Saint, crossing the plains to Zion was not merely a journey, but a rite, the final devoted and enduring act that brought one into the Kingdom." A Fine copy in a Very Good Plus or better dust jacket (pencil numbering to rear cover, spine toning; edgewear, especially to spine-ends). ALWAYS FREE SHIPPING of our books in boxes, via media mail, to any United States address.

Sheridan: Clouds Peak Printery, 1950. Single sheet brochure, 17 x 36cm, folded to 17 x 9cm, four panels on each side. Halftone photographs, cover illustration, map. Some light toning and wear, else fine. Small advertisement for the Deer Haven Lodge, member of the Dude Ranchers Association. Nice map of the Bighorn National Forest, showing the location of the Lodge. Pictures include Paint Rock Creek and Lake Solitude. "Some of the finest fishing available is to be had in the lakes and streams....accessible only by 'packing in.' Ca. 1948-1950. Worldcat locates a single copy, at Yale.

Inland Empire history.

Livingston, Montana; Yellowstone Park, Wyoming: Yellowstone Park Lodges and Camps Company, 1925. Brochure, 22.5 x 10cm folded, 11pp. Black and white photographic illustrations, map, printed in red and black throughout. Illustrated, stapled wraps show light wear and rubbing with a few bent corners, else fine. Beautiful brochure advertising stays at the park, with photos of lodges, sights, wildlife, maps, and pricing. "Any railroad agent can tell you about Yellowstone National Park, or address Yellowstone Park Lodge and Camps Co." Vernon Goodwin is listed as president, taking over from Howard Hays in 1924.

Denver: Old West Publishing, 1965. Hardcover. Orig. decorated green clean. Fine in nicked and chipped plain paper wrapper. 84 pages. 33 x 24.5 cm. Limited edition, one of 1000 copies. Designed and printed by Lawton and Alfred Kennedy. Illustrated in color and black and white. Handsomely printed, bright, very clean copy.

Phoenix: Manufacturing Stationers Inc., 1926. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. First Edition; possibly rebound, as the date is stamped on the spine but not recently; 8vo, brown cloth, no dj; vg (spine ends bumped and rubbed; top corner of front board bumped; edges and pages toning); ten fine folding maps, 399pp incl. index.

"Herein are listed the first families of California and also other persons with family names that were in California 1769-1785 except those who died at San Diego in 1769."